For the last four years, Julia DeVincentis has brought an incredible drive and infectious energy to HerCampus Suffolk. However, her time as Co-Campus Correspondent for the chapter will soon come to an end, as she will graduate in a few weeks and say goodbye to Suffolk. While COVID-19 has made for a difficult senior year for Julia and so many others, she has found a way to stay positive during this difficult time and roll with the punches when it comes to HerCampus Suffolk and her college life as a whole. It is bittersweet to say farewell to Julia and all that she has done for the chapter, but we cannot wait to see what she does next! So, for this week, we are highlighting Julia to celebrate her accomplishments and upcoming graduation. Congrats Julia!
1. What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation I’m going to be job hunting like crazy and I hope to get a job in the cosmetics industry working on their package design. Hopefully more travel restrictions are lifted this summer because I’d also love to travel and relax from the craziness of this year before entering the “real world”.
2. What are your feelings moving beyond college life?
It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling,on one hand I’m so happy to be done with school and not have to ever worry about grades and classes , but I’m also super sad to be leaving Suffolk because I loved going to school here so much. It’s also really sad that I didn’t get to be on campus at all this year so I didn’t get to say a final goodbye to the Suffolk campus.
3. What are some of your greatest memories from these last 4 years at Suffolk?
Being a part of the Suffolk Art Department has given me so many great memories and friends that I can’t single out a specific memory, but being a part of this program has given me lifelong friendships, job connections, and life skills that I will forever remember and treasure for the rest of my life.
4. How has it been doing online classes during your last year of college?
It’s definitely not the ideal situation but having done it now for two years, which is crazy, it was definitely easier to manage. I did get cabin fever super bad this year because I never left my house but I have amazing roommates that made my life easier and made me laugh whenever my head was going to explode. Working on a thesis while being all online was also incredibly difficult to do but I’m so thankful for my amazing professor who made my life 10 times easier through the process and constantly encouraged me to keep going whenever I wanted to give up.
5. Have you done anything in particular to maintain a sense of normalcy for your senior year during this crazy time?
I’m going to be honest, the only “normal” thing that I’ve been able to do is go out for coffee every morning. It’s so crazy that things I used to do on a regular basis pre-covid I would never think to do anymore, but coffee is a necessity and I would walk through any blizzard, hurricane, tornado to get my venti cold brew in the morning.
6. What has been the best part of your HerCampus experience?
Her Campus was a great way for me to have another type of creative outlet to calm myself down and write about what I wanted to write about, which was always a great break from writing boring papers in my classes. Her Campus also gave me the opportunity to make friendships with so many great people that made my Suffolk and Her Campus experience that much better!
7. What will you miss most about Suffolk?
I’m definitely going to miss the sense of community here at Suffolk. Everyone here is so friendly and caring that I hope I can find a job that has an environment that is just as amazing as the work environment here at Suffolk. I’m also going to miss all of my professors from the art department because it is such a close knit small community on campus that was always a safe space for me to cry, yell, or laugh as loud as I wanted or needed to.
8. Finally, What is one piece of advice you would give to your freshman self?
Recently my professor said this quote to me, “You have to give people a chance to love your work before you decide they hate it”, and it just really resonated with me because I am so self-critical of not only myself, but my work as well and I wish someone had told me that right when I started my graphic design education. It would’ve helped me let go and feel more confident about my work earlier on and would’ve helped me be less stressed out about non-existent problems or opinions I would create about my own work.